CPR For the Soul

M. Diane Pearce, Ph.D., LMFT

Just as a change of season brings a renewal of color and a fresh perspective, our soul longs to embrace a renewed perspective of life itself, at its fullest! Purging the old and embarking on a renewed perspective after a season of loss, dryness, or feeling weathered requires a resuscitation of the heart and a chance for vibrant life once again.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), medically serves patients who are in cardiac arrest and is a component of basic life support when life itself is threatened. Soul level CPR is required for us when the vitality of our soul and ability to relate to others is in jeopardy.

Soul Level CPR: 
Cleansing my heart before someone greater than myself, praising someone greater than myself, and requesting from someone greater than myself will resuscitate my soul!

CLEANSING
Daily purging out what is in the deep of my soul frees me of defective thinking and the tendency of viewing myself through a faulty lens. We are all vulnerable to viewing ourselves through a lens of shame, pride, negativity, blame, envy, hurt or resentment. Admitting to God aloud, or in writing, that I have weakness in my thought life, frees me from being held in bondage to the weakness. Surrendering and weeding out the build-up of what is inconsistent with my purpose brings clarity once again...renewal for the soul.

PRAISING
Daily writing or speaking aloud my appreciation for what I have been given, protects me from slipping into an attitude of entitlement and pride.  Giving credit where credit is due prompts a perspective shift - it protects my heart from laying claim to my privileged state and enables me to avoid an emotional plagiarism. But, with life comes the broken, the poor, the abandoned, the imprisoned, the grief, the despair and the ashes. But, we can thank God for the hard in life, because we know HE will use the heard for a divine purpose! He provides us with good news, options for healing and freedom from captivity.  Amidst the hard things in life, divine intervention can bloom! If our hearts are in tune with His ways, He gives us His favor, His comfort, His vengeance on our behalf, beauty, gladness and gratefulness once again...renewal for the soul.

REQUESTING
Making a daily appeal to God with a desperate boldness of spirit for Rebuilding, Restoring and Renewing first within me and then for others, is an act that reflects dependence on God. If I choose to accept that I am not meant to fix, adjust, control or tweak others, then I will give up a habitual thought life that is consumed by the things in life that I have no power to change. When I surrender what I am passionate about several times a day, my thought life will not linger in areas that are not healthy for me. As a result, I will have more emotional energy, and I will be dependent on the one who loves me more deeply than anyone else. Requests laid at the feet of God free me up to have peace that defies human understanding once again…. renewal for the soul.

Soul Level CPR requires a frequent surrendering to God and His truth, which results in me living on purpose. God can revive each of us with Soul Level CPR, which protects us from becoming one who is hardened by pride or the challenges of this life.

Praying you are blessed by renewal today.

~Dr. Diane
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(Holy Bible, NIV, Psalms 22:9-11& 25, 25:4-5, 139: 23-24, Isaiah 61:1-4)